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Trash compactors sized for consumer use include a trash receptacle open at the top and disposed beneath a platen that can be lowered into the trash receptacle to compress the trash. U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,025, which is hereby incorporated herein by this reference, discloses a typically compactor that includes a housing with a trash opening 20 that is disposed through the side of the housing. The trash opening 20 is disposed at a height that is higher than the opening of the trash receptacle and lower than the retracted height of the platen. In this way, trash entering the compactor enters in a space disposed between the retracted height of the platen and the open top of the trash receptacle.
In some compactor embodiments such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,898 to Spencer and U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,907 to Fox, which are hereby incorporated herein by this reference, the platen includes a portion that pivots with its free edge upwardly away from the opening of the trash receptacle and above the height of the trash opening 20 in the sidewall 18 of the housing.
Trash cans located on the premises of public venues such as airport terminals for example, include a housing that surrounds a trash receptacle. The housing typically includes a removable top that has an opening disposed above the opening of the trash receptacle. In some embodiments, the opening in the top of the housing can be provided with a spring-loaded closure that biases the closure in a position that seals and closes the opening in the top. When these trash cans become full, an attendant must remove the top of the housing and empty the contents into a larger bin for transport to a collection site from which the trash is removed from the premises to a disposal facility. The type of trash that the public disposes in the trash can typically occupied a relatively large volume and low density, as it consists largely of items such as beverage cans, cups composed of plastic or styrofoam, papers, and the like. Because this type of trash occupies a relatively large volume for its weight, attendants must frequently empty the trash receptacle to prevent the trash from overflowing the receptacle and clogging the opening in the top of the housing of the trash can. Because of the volume of trash in each trash can, a single attendant cannot empty very many trash cans in a single circuit of the attendant""s assigned area. This disability limits the number of trash cans that can be monitored by any one attendant during the time span in which each can is expected to become full.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a trash can for high traffic public areas.
It is a further principal object of the present invention to provide a trash can with an opening through the top and means for periodically and automatically compacting the trash.
It is another principal object of the present invention to provide a trash can for high traffic public areas with an opening through the top of the trash can and means for periodically and automatically compacting the trash.
It is yet another principal object of the present invention to provide a top loading trash can with a compacting mechanism that includes a platen having a portion that is pivotable out of the way of the path of trash entering the housing from the top and falling into the opening of the trash receptacle.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the objects and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a trash can that one finds in high-traffic public venues can includes a housing with an opening in the top of the housing. A trash by-pass chute is disposed within the housing and transports the trash from the opening in the top to the lower portion of the housing. A mechanism for automatically compacting the trash in the lower portion of the housing is provided within the housing. The compacted trash may be removed from the lower portion of the housing via a door that opens to allow access through the side of the trash can. The mechanism for compacting trash contents can be carried by a frame disposed within the housing. The compacting mechanism can include a platen and can be configured for moving the platen through a compaction stroke to apply compacting pressure to trash contents located in the lower portion of the housing during at least a portion of a compaction stroke. The platen can include a pivotable portion that pivots to by-pass the trash by-pass chute during at least a portion of a retraction stroke of the compacting mechanism. The compacting mechanism desirably includes and is controlled by a programmable controller. A hatch can be provided to selectively block the entrance of the trash by-pass chute under the control of the controller. A hatch stop can be provided to selectively prevent the hatch from moving to allow trash to enter the trash by-pass chute. The controller can be connected to control operation of the hatch stop. A detector can be disposed to detect when trash enters the trash by-pass chute and to report this information to the controller. The controller can be programmed to activate the trash compacting mechanism to compact the trash in the lower portion of the housing after the detector registers a predetermined number of times when trash enters the trash by-pass chute. A sensor can be provided and disposed to detect when the door is closed and locked and report this information to the controller, which can be programmed to prevent the trash compacting mechanism from operating unless the door is closed and locked. The controller can be programmed to activate the hatch stop to prevent the hatch from allowing trash to enter the trash by-pass chute during the operation of the trash compacting mechanism to compact the trash in the lower portion of the housing.